Cadmus and the Speedster
by TheBallad
Summary: The castle like science facility lit up the forest surrounding it. Around the perimeter an electric fence buzzed angrily as it reached towards the night sky, making it nearly as high as the third story windows. As one of the few subjects to live through the tests, Wally can't help but crave the freedom he never had. AU where Wally only knows the life as an experiment.


So I've been hit in the face with inspiration. This hasn't been beta'd, so please excuse any mistakes. I haven't had a chance to proof read and I wanted to post it before I got distracted.

So enjoy the reading, but mind you this is an AU. So anything can happen

* * *

The castle like science facility lit up the forest surrounding it. Around the perimeter an electric fence buzzed angrily as it reached towards the night sky, making it nearly as high as the third story windows. On one of the many floor there was a special room. Along one side a perfectly looking science lab was set up, along with a hospital bed with a generous amount of restraints lazily dangling from the sides.

The other side looked more like strange holding cells. After one was to count the cells there would be five. Each of them were set up the same. A bed tucked away in the left hand side and a toilet stall on the right with a sink protruding out of the wall between the other two objects. The only thing on each prison was a clear door, the only indication it was even there was a very, very thin lining the door and the keypad next to it. Every wall was a clear material, too strong to be glass and much to clear to be plastic.

All but one cell was empty. The far cell on the right contained a fifteen year old teen sitting cross legged on his bed, flipping through a chemistry book. The scientist in the room paid no mind to the child as he cleaned up his work, leaving his desk light on as he grabbed his coat. He walked up to the red-haired boy's container, staring in with a bleak look. "I'm headed out for the night, Wallace, need anything before I go?" The freckled face of the teen turned from the pages of his book.

"My freedom would be nice." he spoke smoothly, a coy grin on his lips and a glint in his eyes. "_Please," _

"Goodnight Wallace. " the man tells him, rolling his eyes as he turns to exit the building.

"Take a joke doc. I could use a notebook and pencil,"

"You know i can't give you those after the last attempt." The man's voice sounded worn out. "Come on, you think I'd try that?" _Alone? I'm not that stupid._

"Goodnight." the main lights flicked off and the door clicked shut. A dim light flooded the room from the desk that the doc left on. A frown was left on the teens face as he snapped his book shut and leaned against the wall. Looking over the other stalls he felt his stomach drop, missing the people who once inhabited them. The cell next to him used to look much different. The boy that had been held there, James, was very childish. They gave him all sorts of child like toys, his bedspread had been almost as colorful as the teen's hair which had been a mix of bright blonde strands and blotches of pink. His friend had been 'canceled', as the scientists like to call it, about three weeks ago. It was lonely without anybody in the cells next to him. Then again people came and went, he was the only one that stayed. The only one that showed _promise._

* * *

Wally hadn't noticed how much time had passed, his thoughts on James completely taking him over, causing him to snap his head towards the noise of a door opening. A janitor cart shoved it's way through the door. A smiled found a way on his face quickly as an older man with brown hair and a mustache to match moved into the room.

"Rudy!" he chimed, standing up and not caring that his chemistry book toppled to the floor, losing his place. He already read the thing four times since he got it last week, Mr. Scientist not bothering to give him new material.

"Wally my boy, how're you?" the man asked, smiling right back at him. His silver nametag hung on his shirt reading 'Rudolph' was slightly crooked today, his clothes slightly more wrinkled then normal.

"Bored, and bored. You have a rough night with the wife?" he asked, pressing his hands to the clear material as the man moved closer, a newspaper sitting promptly on top of the cleaning supplies. The man stopped while he was in front of the door, making eye contact with the young boy.

"Nah, just a busy night." he spoke easily, rolling up the newspaper and sliding it through one of the five air holes along the middle of the containment cell. Wally snatched it up eagerly, used to this treatment every night but Thursdays; the night Rudy had off.

"Thanks a ton! I'd go crazy in here without you." he sat, plopping himself down on his bed, the light blossoming around the room. He was already reading and barely noticed the music filling the room from the music.

The two stay silent as they do what they always do. The man cleaning the room and the child eagerly reading the paper. Ever since he could remember Rudy came in and cleaned this room. All the experiments that were caged here enjoyed his company. He was a kind man, wrinkles by his eyes that seemed to smile every time he told a story. Before he could read the paper the man would clean and tell the tales of the superheros that seemed to crop up. People with abilities like theirs. Like _his._

So of course _Flash _was his favorite. After all the man had the same power as Wally. It only made since. He remember the countless hours he and trickster would argue over who was best, other cellmates jumping in with their two cents.

Soon he finished the paper, enjoying the comics the most. Once he was done he rolled up the paper, handing it back to the man once he noticed that Wally had finished.

"Hey Rudy?" he asked as the man took the newspaper back. "Would ya' mind telling me another story? About anything?" The stories of the outside world, a world he never knew, always amazed him. The man gave him a warm smile and nodded his head.

"It was supposed to be a hot summer day in central city, but snow fell from the sky." the man started, Wally flopped onto his bed, listening to the story as the man mopped the floor. "Captain Cold terrorized the city, he stormed into the bank after freezing half the city in an iceblock, demanding three million dollars or else. All hope was lost except for one person. Now all that was left was to wait for the fastest man alive. The Flash."

Wallace fell into a peaceful slumber while the other's soothing voice spoke, a smirk on his face as he thought of running with _the _Flash.

* * *

At six in the morning Wallace was woken up. Groggily he scratched his head and yawned, moving out of his containment cell as two burly men and his doc stood by. As soon as he stepped out a thin metal collar snapped around his neck. He didn't question anything as he was led out of the room, being shoved at a tread mill. A soft noise left his lips as his bare feet stepped against the cold tracks of the machine. It beeped to life, slowly turning on and increasing speed. He never missed a beat, keeping up with the speed that it required. Though never to his full ability, if the machine started to go _too _fast he'd pretend to falter and face plant. Humiliating? Yes, but in this place he needed the upper hand. He learned that mighty fast. Hell, he grew up just knowing it.

At seven 'o five he was allowed to shower and change into a different pair of white scrubs. He remembered trying to convince one of his many doctors to let him wear red and yellow pajamas instead. It was allowed for a short time. That is until an indent occurred with Terror Twins. Better known as Tommy and Tuppence. He remembered all the hell they raise the few months they were actually held here. In the end he wasn't sure what happened to them. Maybe they actually escaped this place. The only place Wally every thirty two rolls around and he finds himself inhaling breakfast. Plenty of slop oatmeal and a jug of orange juice. The scientist watches him as he eats, looking disgusted, and writes something down on the paper.

"W'at? Find something the other-" he swallows his mouthful of food and smacks his lips. "guys didn't?" The man doesn't answer him, just gives him a cold stare so he continues.

"Super speed equals faster metabolism, immunity to certain poisons and gas. Sickness have little to no effect." he rambled, spooning more mush into his mouth, finishing off the last of it. Soon the orange juice followed, a loud burp escaping him as soon as he finished it."You'll be terminated like all the others." he told the other, letting his spoon clank into the empty bowl.

"Wallace, I-" the man started but the other cut him off.

"Call me Wally." he said, flashing a bright grin. "After all I've known you for at least three days. Anyways, whatever happen to Doc. Colemen?" he asked, his green eyes shimmering with a coldness. But he is never answered. Just like always.

It's five pm and time for his testing. He doesn't struggle today, he's too bored for it. Not broken, because if he decides to struggle it could be at the last moment. Though tonight getting the shit shocked out of him by the thin metal collar didn't seem ideal. So he let himself get poked and prodded, feeling slightly woozy by the end of it all. The man shuts him in his cell, locking it up.

"You'll be meeting a new doctor tomorrow, first thing in the morning. So get some rest Wallace."

"Wally." the boy corrects, his voice weak but holding a teasing voice. The man ponders how someone can be so kind after growing up as a test subject. Pity shows on his face before he leaves. When Rudy comes around that night the teen doesn't stir. The older man feels something unsettling stir in his stomach. He decides it is now or never. He needs to get this child help.

* * *

The bald doctor sneers at Wally so he beams brightly at the other. But his stomach does flips as he is forcefully dragged to the hospital bed. He panics because his instincts are screaming for him to run. This doctor is no good, like a handful of others that 'treated' him. He rips away from the guards and darts for the door, ignoring the shooting pains of electricity through his body. He'd felt it plenty of times, his rebellion just naturally stirring when he hit his teens. The outside world was much to tempting to ignore.

He doesn't even make it three feet out of the door. He crumples to the ground as the intensity increases, causing a wheeze of pain to escape his lips.

The leather straps were three notches too tight around his limbs. The metal table beneath him burns his skin that touches it. Only a pair of white boxer protect his skin, which makes him rather uncomfortable under the man's stare."Pervert." he drawls mockingly. The man doesn't bother to speak as he picks up a scalpel, giving Wally the smile he always hated. _Today we learn how Wally heals. _He thinks dryly to himself. So many other doctors did the same, leaving his body littered in all kinds off of scars. Most healed with time, but some were just to brutal. The ones on his wrists and ankles, well, once on vanished an angrier one would appear. The warm blood stings but not as bad as the rubbing alcohol that is splashed in his wounds for 'cleansing'. Of course they wouldn't want to get infected or some sort of nonsense. In truth he tried not to listen to their babbling. More or less it was annoying and repetitive. He feels a gloved finger probe the wound, pushing to get under the skin. Wally cringes at the idea of someone inside his body.

_One…two…three…four…_

"This is outstanding!" Another deep slash on his chest. Pain ripples down his chest, a sour smell wafts in the air. _'Burning Flesh…' _he thinks tiredly. _'Acid again? This'll leave a nasty scar for a while.' _He tells himself, trying not to think of the hellish pain that slowly ate away at him.

Literally.

_Five…six…seven…eight_

"You can see it heal, very slowly, but you can _see _it."

"Yea, so _cool. _Now get a _real _job." Wally bit out. He didn't regret it, not even when the scalpel found itself wedge in his arm. "Did I hit a sore spot?" he asked mockingly, grinning cheekily at the other as he ignored the pain. Even though he was a lab rat he would never be a pushover. Not for these dip wads.

Wallace can't read the doctor's expression before the man leaves, waving his hand at the assistant that stood by silently. She moved forwards, cleansing the boy's wounds slightly.

"You're pretty good at this." he comments lazily as she wraps up his chest. She doesn't answer. "Thanks babe." he says softly when she finishes. She shots him a disgusted look and marches out of the room. Wally sighs and shrugs his shoulders. The soft smile never leaves his lips as he was guided back to his cell, silver collar unhooked and the door shut.

Then he's alone. Again.

Slowly he sways on his feet, plopping down on the stiff bed. A soft thump echoes in the eerily quiet room as the boy's back hits his mattress. Lifting up his arms he stares at the knew scars, wondering why his superspeed was a good enough reason to put him through this.

* * *

"I've seen worse though." he comments to Rudolph as he skims that days news paper. None of it seems interesting today, so he tells his friend about today. Especially the knew d-bag of a doctor. "You're pretty brave, kiddo." the man tells him. Wally looks up from the paper to watch the man clean his blood off the lab table.

"You really think so?"

"Yea, I really do Wally." He could hear the regret in the man's voice. Random chatter comes and goes, at the end of the night he requests that the radio be left on. Rudy hesitates before nodding his head, leaving the radio on as he leaves.

* * *

_He's young once more, his body feels frail. He looks up to see a red haired women smiling warming at him. He reached his small three year old hands towards her, scrunching his fingers together._

"_Ma!" he squeaked out. The women's green eyes shun with regret, reaching down and picking the toddler up. He instantly cuddles against the soft skin, her chain necklace pressing coldly against his cheek. The room is more then familiar. His nursery. A small red car-bed sat in the corner, small toys scattered about the room. Behind a mirror he knew laid a lab, which a door in his room led to. He whimpered and pressed closer against the women he claimed as his mother. She hushed him as she walked to the whispers something in his ear._

* * *

He jolts awake at a yelling noise. It sounds pained and frantic. He looks towards the doorway, staying in his bed. A green skinned being his being dragged into the room. The body thrashes around as jumbled yells and threats spill from him, voice slurred. Drugs probably caused this, like most people brought in were given. Nobody spares Wally a glance as the child is thrown into the cell next to Wally. One man punches a few codes into the door and the air holes begin to move, small screens going across whistles lowly, as if amazed. Though he'd seen it time and time again, these cages were something else. Again he is ignored. He watches at the green child, who he realized was in fact a male, morphed his figure. He changed to a bear, slashing at the sides of the containment room, slamming himself into it, and when it failed the bears snout fell open, a painful cry ringing in his ears.

Pity hits him quickly, knowing this situation by heart. A lot of _special _kids attempted to escape before. Other's stayed calm and, well, everyone had their own way of dealing with it. The men laughed before turning away and leaving. The other child tried and tried again, forms changing from an ant to a small dinosaur. It awed the redhead in the least.

Soon the child gave up, shifting to his green-self and dropping to his knees. Hands pressed to his face and a morning wail leaves him.

"If you do they, you'll let them win." Wally speaks up. The child jumps, looking at Wally with bright green eyes. "I'm Wallace, but you can call me Wally." he tells the boy who apparently didn't notice he had a neighbor. The other's face scrunches up and a sloppy sniffle later he speaks.

"G-Garfield." the boy slurs out, scooting closer to the glass that connect their cells. "What is this place?"

"It's a science facility."

"Oh…"

"Hey Gar, mind if I call you Gar? Ah, well, Shape shifting? That's nifty. You're like a hero, ya' know." Wally tells him happily, smiling. The least he could do was help the boy adjust, no one else here had a heart to do that. '_well.' _he mused silently '_Rudolph will like him' _"I…I was going to be a sidekick." the boy stated, a smirk finally lacing his features. "I jus' got my powers under control a few weeks ago. I have a few friends in the Young justice." the boy nearly bragged. "Once I let them know I had powers they told me I could join when I got them under control." he boasts now, whole heartedly."No way! That's so cool. Who are you friends with?" he questions, completely interested in the other's bragging. He tells him about the team, how they saved him. The superman clone, Robin, an Archer girl, and Aqualad. He continued to go on and on about a Martian girl and how she saved him. How he got his powers shortly after. The conversation went on nearly all night. He wished it wasn't Thursday so Gar could meet Rudy.

* * *

A loud squelch followed by an 'ew' left Garfield, a look of disgust matching his voice. Wally laughed, spooning some into his mouth.

Gar stuck out his tongue and made a gagging noise.

"How do you stomach this?" he asked, pointing the oatmeal covered spoon at the redhead. The teen shrugged, smirking.

"Not that hard, really. I've been eating since I was…well, since I could eat." he explained. "Once they tried doing a pill diet, be glad they stopped that. I never thought I'd miss this bland goop." he said with a chuckle, happily eating the rest of his so called food.

The younger of the two decided he'd just drink his apple juice. Wally paused before speaking up.

"Eat it Gar, you don't want to have to deal with the doctors." He didn't want to see his new friend harmed. The child looked back at his bowl and grimaced. Yet he took notice of the meaning of the warning, slowly eating the food with mild complaint.

* * *

Wally talked continuously after their testing period. They hadn't gone easy on Garfield. His bandages slowly began to turn red, his eyes brimming with unshed tears as he huddles on his bed in pain. So the redhead talks of Rudy, the news papers, and completely made up stories. It pains him every time the other whimpers. But he gets soft chuckles and comments once in a while. This quickly becomes a habit for the two.-

For the next week there is no sign of Rudolph and Wally feels panic. He remembers most of his past doctors and vividly remembers all the stories in the newspaper about them. Suicide, Murder, overdosing, car crashes, and many more _accidents _float in his mind. Garfield catches on that Wally is worried about something, and figures out quickly that it's the old janitor.

"Don't worry buddy, The team will be here soon. I just _know _it."

Wally doesn't have the heart to tell him help never comes.

* * *

Two months pass by and the two boy's feel like they've known each other forever. Together they drive everyone up the wall and stay strong. They rebel in the best way they can, which was basically disrupting the tests anyway possible. When punishment had been dealt they had each other for support. If it was one thing Wally had missed, it'd been company.

Oh, and the most important thing they planned was an escape. See, the mattresses had springs in them. Which Wally was currently tugging out of his bed. He straightened it perfectly and then giving it a slight curve at the end. Skillfully he maneuvered the tool out an air hole, jabbing at the control panel as Gar guided him.

After an hour he managed to his all the buttons, the door sliding open with ease. He pumped his fists in the air, rushing to Gar's cage to tap in the code. It took a month of observing and perfect planning to get the codes. It's been a long and _painful _task. They two looked at each other, Wally wearing an awkward grin as the glass no longer separated them.

"Fancy meeting you-_Oof_!" Wally began, being cut off when the child latched onto his chest. He stumbled slightly, patting the other's head. "Come on, we gotta hurry.."

Wally motioned for the other to go first out of the open window. The child transformed into a small bird, soaring out of the window. Then it was his move. He paused before walking to back slightly before charging at the window, diving through it. Fear laced through his veins as he seen the ground getting closer and closer to him. It was about ten seconds before he kissed the ground claws grasped his shoulder, pulling him towards the sky. He let out a shaky breath before laughs escaping him. The fresh air nearly sent him into shock, not to mention the first time actually seeing the outside in person nearly killed him.

This was going to be great.

"_Yahoo!" _He screamed into the night air, a grin spreading across his features. Not even the alarms echoing in the night sky could ruin this moment.

He was _free._

* * *

They stared at each other, both hesitant to make the first move. They knew this moment was coming but it seemed a little too soon. Wally didn't hesitate any longer, the few minutes seemed to stretch much to long. He gathered the boy in a tight embrace, smiling.

"Are you sure you don't wanna join me, Wally?" the boy asked softly, arm wrapped around the boy's shoulder tightly.

"Nah, I wanna see the world. What I've missed…but, we'll always be friends." he reassured the boy. Gar broke the hug, making eye contact.

"Really?"

"Dude, who'd pass up being friends with Beast boy?" he teased, nudging the other. The other nodded and moved towards the transported, pausing to give one last wave to the speeders.

Then Wally was alone again.

But this time he was _free. _


End file.
